Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
User submission
534
Guy Refuses To Split Restaurant Bill With Friends After They Order $200 Meals, Drama Ensues
Bills are an unavoidable part of life but they can still become a source of frustration and confusion; especially if you’re trying to split them among family or friends.
Recently, Reddit user Additional-Wasabi357 went to a restaurant with a group they’ve been hanging out for a while. However, when it was time to pay, two people who are notorious for their financial manipulation, tried to make everyone at the table chip in equal parts even though they spent much, much more.
Sick and tired of their antics, Additional-Wasabi357 decided to stand up for themselves.
RELATED:
This person went out with some friends but refused to split the bill equally
Image credits: Kampus Production/Pexels (not the actual photo)
And it has caused quite a scene
Image credits: Kampus Production/Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Spencer Davis/Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: energepic.com/Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Lee Myungseong/Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Additional-Wasabi357
Splitting the check remains to be one of the most controversial subjects around group dining
Talking about money with friends can be tricky, but as this experience shows, you can’t avoid these conversations entirely.
Nick Leighton, who cohosts the etiquette-advice podcast Were You Raised by Wolves? thinks it makes sense to split the bill with buddies if everyone’s orders came out to similar prices.
“Ultimately, at the end of a lifetime of friendship, it’ll all even out,” he told Business Insider.
But if they don’t, Leighton believes it’s reasonable to ask for separate checks. If for whatever reason the restaurant can’t do that, he added, the burden falls on the person who organized the event to handle the bill with the venue and then get reimbursed by their guests.
Leighton recommended an app called Plates to determine how much you owe based on what you ordered.
Further sticking to etiquette when paying for just one’s own meal, it’s crucial that guests repay their portion promptly. “It’s super rude to ever make someone chase you for money you rightly owe,” Leighton explained. “Those who don’t pay their debts promptly should be removed from any future guest lists.”
However, ultimately honest and clear communication is what allows people to navigate these situations, and it sounds like the two who gave the Redditor a hard time at the restaurant just weren’t interested in that.
If you ever find yourself in a similar spot, it’s usually best to distance yourself from all the commotion and and handle things personally. When the server approaches your table with the check, address them directly, suggests Diane Gottsman, an etiquette expert and owner of the Protocol School of Texas.
“Don’t look at your friends or your neighbor at the table,” she told CNBC. “Say, ‘I’m covering these two’ — that way you’re telling the server, not the table.”
“We should be discreet advocates for ourselves — for both our comfort levels and our budgets,” Gottsman highlighted.
People who read the post thought its author did nothing wrong
Poll Question
Total votes ·
Thanks! Check out the results:
Total votes ·
Newsletter
Subscribe to Access
Exclusive Polls
By entering your email and clicking Subscribe, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Privacy Policy.
Thank you! You've successfully subscribed to newsletters!
222Kviews
Share on FacebookExplore more of these tags
What do you think ?
TribbleThinking 1 year ago
Very well played and even more so for leading the exodus! That's two greedy leeches and one enabler (heaven knows what disturbed people pleasing mental trauma he's got going on to actively recruit for the leeches like that of his volition).
Zoe Vokes 1 year ago
It’s not because of any “financial hardships” that they are choosing to order the most expensive item on the menu. It’s because they are greedy and taking advantage of their friends. The first time out with them I would have said, “Are we splitting the bill? Because i can’t afford to pay for Greg and Susan’s expensive tastes. My bill comes to $__ with tip.” Greg and Susan aren’t friends.
Load More Replies...
Woodsie 1 year ago
I'm in Australia and you don't need a restaurant to spilt bills. Just do what I and my friends do, use the calculator that we all have on our phones. Bills are itemised, just take the bill, take our your phone, calculate then say " my share is ..." and put a bit extra for a tip if service was good. Do it first then others can't argue, leeches get the bill last.
Zoe Vokes 1 year ago
That’s what I would have done the first time we ate out together. “My bill came to $___. I can’t afford to pay for Greg and Susan’s expensive tastes.” If they were actually having financial hardships then they wouldn’t have ordered the most expensive item on the menu. Their bill would have been smaller if they had ordered less and money is supposedly tight for them.
Load More Replies...
Spittnimage 1 year ago (edited)
Dan wanted OP to come only so he wouldn't have as big a chunk of money to pay for Susan and Greg's meals. When that didn't work out as planned Dan called OP an AH. OP needs to reconsider what a friend really is - and it's not Dan's kind of friendship, or Greg and Susan's either.
Joanne Mendonza-Earle 1 year ago
I've always been against splitting the bill evenly. Years ago in CA my ex and I belonged to a small local homebrew club. We were having major money issues and the others were all very comfortable financially, but we went out w/ the group for a field trip to a local brewpub. My ex and I didn't order any drinks or beer and had water, didn't order or eat any appetizers ordered by the others, didn't sample any of the beer flights. We both got the absolute cheapest thing on the menu. When the bill came, our friend was like, 'ok everyone pitches in about 60'. I looked at my ex panicked and OMG the woman next to me, this utter ANGEL, spoke up and said, 'No. No way. These 2 kids didn't hardly eat or drink a thing. They are NOT paying that much.' I was never so grateful in my life.
DarkViolet 1 year ago
NTA. That mess pìssed me off royally when I went out with certain people in a group. Each and every damned time, the rest of us ended up covering their portion of the bill. This was at a time when I worked in retail, so my funds were limited. Unless I was informed ahead of time that my portion would be covered, I will take a pass on going out to eat if I didn't have enough money. It's the only decent thing to do. OP made the right move in removing himself from being victimized yet again. Also, it's pretty obvious that his friendship with Dan has run its course. He would be better off hanging with the other two friends; his wallet could use a break.
quentariel 1 year ago
Here Dan is a coward, Greg and Susan are rude a******s, you are kinda awesome – and you are all total idiots for letting this continue for so long.
T'Mar of Vulcan 1 year ago
In South Africa they don't do separate bills either, but you just grab the pen and your phone and work out what you owe. It's not that hard. Then when the waitron comes you just hold up your card and go, "R215 on this one," "R180 on this one," etc. Done.
TribbleThinking 1 year ago
Very well played and even more so for leading the exodus! That's two greedy leeches and one enabler (heaven knows what disturbed people pleasing mental trauma he's got going on to actively recruit for the leeches like that of his volition).
Zoe Vokes 1 year ago
It’s not because of any “financial hardships” that they are choosing to order the most expensive item on the menu. It’s because they are greedy and taking advantage of their friends. The first time out with them I would have said, “Are we splitting the bill? Because i can’t afford to pay for Greg and Susan’s expensive tastes. My bill comes to $__ with tip.” Greg and Susan aren’t friends.
Load More Replies... Woodsie 1 year ago
I'm in Australia and you don't need a restaurant to spilt bills. Just do what I and my friends do, use the calculator that we all have on our phones. Bills are itemised, just take the bill, take our your phone, calculate then say " my share is ..." and put a bit extra for a tip if service was good. Do it first then others can't argue, leeches get the bill last.
Zoe Vokes 1 year ago
That’s what I would have done the first time we ate out together. “My bill came to $___. I can’t afford to pay for Greg and Susan’s expensive tastes.” If they were actually having financial hardships then they wouldn’t have ordered the most expensive item on the menu. Their bill would have been smaller if they had ordered less and money is supposedly tight for them.
Load More Replies... Spittnimage 1 year ago (edited)
Dan wanted OP to come only so he wouldn't have as big a chunk of money to pay for Susan and Greg's meals. When that didn't work out as planned Dan called OP an AH. OP needs to reconsider what a friend really is - and it's not Dan's kind of friendship, or Greg and Susan's either.
Joanne Mendonza-Earle 1 year ago
I've always been against splitting the bill evenly. Years ago in CA my ex and I belonged to a small local homebrew club. We were having major money issues and the others were all very comfortable financially, but we went out w/ the group for a field trip to a local brewpub. My ex and I didn't order any drinks or beer and had water, didn't order or eat any appetizers ordered by the others, didn't sample any of the beer flights. We both got the absolute cheapest thing on the menu. When the bill came, our friend was like, 'ok everyone pitches in about 60'. I looked at my ex panicked and OMG the woman next to me, this utter ANGEL, spoke up and said, 'No. No way. These 2 kids didn't hardly eat or drink a thing. They are NOT paying that much.' I was never so grateful in my life.
DarkViolet 1 year ago
NTA. That mess pìssed me off royally when I went out with certain people in a group. Each and every damned time, the rest of us ended up covering their portion of the bill. This was at a time when I worked in retail, so my funds were limited. Unless I was informed ahead of time that my portion would be covered, I will take a pass on going out to eat if I didn't have enough money. It's the only decent thing to do. OP made the right move in removing himself from being victimized yet again. Also, it's pretty obvious that his friendship with Dan has run its course. He would be better off hanging with the other two friends; his wallet could use a break.
quentariel 1 year ago
Here Dan is a coward, Greg and Susan are rude a******s, you are kinda awesome – and you are all total idiots for letting this continue for so long.
T'Mar of Vulcan 1 year ago
In South Africa they don't do separate bills either, but you just grab the pen and your phone and work out what you owe. It's not that hard. Then when the waitron comes you just hold up your card and go, "R215 on this one," "R180 on this one," etc. Done.
You May Like Jealous Mom Demands To Bring Kids On Girls Trip, Friend Says "Absolutely Not" 28 Signs Of A Fake Friend And A Toxic Relationship Woman Takes Advantage Of Friend’s Kindness For Too Long, Acts Surprised When It’s Over
Ilona Baliūnaitė
Linas Simonaitis
Ilona Baliūnaitė
Related on Bored Panda
59
67